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It’s the start of a new year and you’ve decided now is the time to invest in optimising your marketing strategy to improve the performance of your sales and/or recruitment funnels.🤔
You need external agency help in order to be able to put a strategy together and then execute that strategy. But which agency to choose?
The challenge for clients is that no two digital agencies in Ireland are alike. Some specialise in particular services, others in particular sectors and they also vary from 3 team members to over 50.
So before you set off on an agency search, take a look at these seven quick tips. They might help you select an agency that is the right fit for your business. 😉
Tip 1. Transparency is key.
When you approach an agency, you need to be clear about your goals and objectives, what you are struggling with, and what you want to get out of the partnership.
Do you want to access expert knowledge to leverage more growth opportunities? Do you more simply want to get a fresh perspective, or have you a very specific challenge you want to address??
Do you want to build a faster, more impactful website? Or amplify your impact on social media?
It’s good to have a sense of what you hope to achieve so that you and the agency can work together to develop a plan to hit your future goals.
Tip 2. Ask what services they offer.
As mentioned above, some agencies specialise in particular service areas and others, like us, are full-service agencies.
Teaming up with multiple agencies, each with specialist knowledge in the different services they offer may help move the needle in the right direction in terms of maximising campaign success. Still, there are great advantages to choosing one agency that can handle all your marketing needs.
This will also simplify the process and streamline communications ensuring information is transferred easily between you and the agency keeping your marketing goals and objectives aligned under one marketing umbrella. From a cost perspective too, it could be beneficial as you create a deeper partnership and work together to curb costs without affecting the end result.
Tip 3. Agencies will have a proven track record, so ask to see results.
It’s perfectly acceptable to want to see work from an agency that will demonstrate their ability to deliver a similarly positive result for your company. And though most agencies will showcase their work on their website as we do here, it’s impossible to showcase every project in the history of the company. So don’t be shy about asking about the breadth of work they have delivered over the years and what clients they have worked with.
It’s also important to find out if the agency in question has the necessary experience in your sector. Does it fully understand your business and the types of customers you want to attract?
Tip 4. Ask about the key technologies that the agency uses
If you are in the market for a new website, you will want to know what CMS the agency offers. Is this solution appropriate to your needs?
Good agencies will also use a range of diagnostic tools that can easily highlight areas for improvement both in your website and also in other areas of your digital marketing.
Finally, you should also ask about third-party integrations. Many modern websites integrate with CRMs, payment solutions and applicant tracking systems for recruitment. Does the agency that you are talking to have prior experience with integrating these tools?
Tip 5. Ask the agency what is their approach to their clients.
Ask about how a typical project is handled by the agency. What are the milestones and how are they managed?
Quite apart from the process, you also want to be surrounded by a team of motivated professionals who will listen to your problem, be available to help you when you call and make your project their priority. So, it’s important to ask which members of their team will be allocated to your project.
Tip 6. Don’t rush your decision.
Making a wrong decision could cost you in the long run if, for whatever reason, you decide to change to another agency. So it’s worth taking cautious steps initially to establish whether you feel the agency can actually deliver on its promise.
Tip 7. How does the agency plan to utilise your budgeted agency hours?
It’s perfectly acceptable to query how the agency plans to spend your money and to expect a breakdown of those project hours so that you can monitor where your spending is going, whether on project management, content writing, administration, SEO audit or enhancing technical aspects of the website.
To sum up!
We’ve mentioned transparency is key. And this is true for every stage of your agency search from querying their track record, to the types of technology and tools they use, to their approach to building partnerships that last.
Some businesses can operate without any agency help but what an outside agency can provide for your business is invaluable support with dedicated marketing professionals proactively working with your teams to deliver quality results for your campaign.
A professional agency will leverage all the tools and technology at its disposal to successfully run your campaigns, generate more leads, attract new customers and unlock real growth potential for your business.
